As You Read This On Your Phone...

HAVE Smartphones Really Destroyed a Generation?

It is an article that has the “back-to-school” interwebs buzzing. The Atlantic’s “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” posits that the “iGen” generation is more risk averse and less independent than any generation in history (though my son would say, “Remember the Croods…”).

As we tell our trip leaders, “Good judgment sometimes comes out of bad experience”–you only forget to pack the frozen food, have to use all of the back up matches in the med kit, or hand out your only spare pair of dry socks once…then, most of the time, you learn. The hands-on, experiential lessons we learn at camp and in life help us grow, establish an understanding of interpersonal dynamics, and remind us not to forget our rainjackets.

These lessons also help us realize we have competence to actually actively participate in the world and in our self development rather than simply watching from afar in the safety of our homes and known social circles.

Melinda Gates commented in a Washington Post article , “Phones and apps aren’t good or bad by themselves, but for adolescents who don’t yet have the emotional tools to navigate life’s complications and confusions, they can exacerbate the difficulties of growing up: learning how to be kind, coping with feelings of exclusion, taking advantage of freedom while exercising self-control. It’s more important than ever to teach empathy from the very beginning, because our kids are going to need it.”

We couldn’t agree more–but we are always eager to learn what others think, too.